


legend has it that the moss grows on the left side of the tree

by lavenderbluud



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - 2000s, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Bisexual Richie Tozier, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Friendship, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Humor, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Lesbian Beverly Marsh, Multi, Nonbinary Richie Tozier, Nonbinary Stanley Uris, Queer Character, Trans Richie Tozier, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderbluud/pseuds/lavenderbluud
Summary: when eddie gets lost in the woods, he meets a kid named richie. as it turns out; they have a lot more in common than they thought, eddie is intrigued by the mysterious witch and befriends them. basically, it's very gay and fluffy and richie is a enby witch because im an enby witch named richie so i say so :) hope u enjoy!
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	legend has it that the moss grows on the left side of the tree

**Author's Note:**

> helloooo!! i haven't posted in like so long wow!!! well this summer i spent a lot of time in the woods and got inspired to make a fanfic somewhat related to my practice of witchcraft and such!! im not sure where im taking this story but i hope u will join me for the ride!! kudos and comments are always so appreciated!! have a great day i hope u like it!! (title and sum chapter titles from the moss by cosmo sheldrake)  
> Also a pronoun guide!  
> Richie: they/them  
> Eddie: he/him  
> Stanley: they/them  
> Beverly: she/they  
> Bill: he/him  
> Mike: he/they  
> Ben: he/him

Eddie grimaced as his white sneaker sank into the mud. As much as he wanted to deny it....he was lost as fuck. He didn’t even want to be in the woods! He just needed to get out of the house; his friends were busy and his mom was being really difficult so he just wandered out and now he’s here...lost in the woods. 

Stellar. 

After nearly falling down a hill, Eddie decided to take a rest and try to figure out just where the hell he was. Sitting down on a decently dry patch of grass, praying that he wouldn’t come home covered in it, Eddie began to look around. 

The trees swayed overhead, cooling the forest floor below with their leaves. It was nearing the end of summer, only 4 more weeks to go before school started again. Most of Eddie’s friends had summer jobs but that didn’t dissuade them from their regular hang outs. 

Eddie wasn’t allowed to get a job yet, seeing as his mom viewed most of them as being speculative at best. As much as her son tried to convince her that working the register at a grocery store wasn’t going to put him in an early grave, Sonia forbade it.

So here Eddie sat, leaning back on his hands and staring at some moss creeping up the side of a large tree, nearly to the top like a little ladder for the bugs inhabiting the bark. It was pretty peaceful, despite the humidity and occasional buzzing in his ears. 

An out of place whistle caused Eddie to snap out of the trance he found himself in while staring at the sunlight peaking through leaves. The whistle was followed by humming which was in turn accompanied by the sound of boot snapping a stick underfoot. Eddie jumped up and turned around, finally spotting the figure as they moved closer, seemingly unaware of his presence. 

The teen was tall, like bean pole tall and rather thin, dressed as if the weather didn’t affect them in a pair of black overalls, a loose dark t-shirt underneath and a flannel tied around their waist. Dangling from their neck was multiple necklaces, most  notably one with a shaped crystal hanging from it that smacked against the pocket of the overalls when they moved. 

The boots in question were red platform Doc Martens, cuffed pant legs revealed mismatched socks with plants and star sewn in, an odd-looking backpack was slung over the person’s shoulder and the pins on it jingled while they treaded along the forest floor. Now that they were only about 5 feet away from Eddie, he could see that they had dark curly hair, green eyes framed by large glasses, and freckles splattered across their face. They had an eyebrow piercing that would’ve made Eddie’s mom gag and a septum ring that would’ve made her  _faint_.  Pierced ears with earrings similar to what Bev wore accompanied the other shiny metal in their face. Their facial features were almost sharp but not quite, their eyes and voice seemed feminine but Eddie didn’t like to assume. 

The person leant down and began gathering some moss, sticking it in a jar while muttering, seemingly to the plants. 

“E-excuse me!” Eddie piped up, the person froze and looked up quickly. Their smile made Eddie’s words die in his throat, their buck teeth were white and looked so goddamn cute somehow “Who are you?” He shifted on his feet while the person tucked away the jar in the bag. 

“Why, I’m Richie Tozier!” The person, Richie, called back. They slowly made their way over to Eddie. “Who are you? What brings you to these fine woods?” Richie took another long stride before plopping down on a tree stump across from Eddie. 

“I’m Eddie, Eddie Kaspbrak. I was just wandering around.” Eddie explained anxiously, Richie’s smile didn’t falter. 

“You lost, Eds?” Richie cocked their head to the side. Eddie shrugged before nodding eventually. “Well, I can help you get out depending on where you need to go. Now, tell me Eds, what’re your pronouns?” Richie set the bag down between their long legs and looked at Eddie expectantly. 

“W-What?” Eddie was taken aback for a split second because it's not often someone in Derry asks you that. 

“Y’know, what you identify as? He/him, she/her, they/them, xey/xer, that whole deal.” Richie replied kindly, Eddie made a noise in understanding. 

“I’m a boy, so uh he/him then. And don’t call me Eds.” Richie nodded quickly with a grin. “What about you?” Eddie hadn’t had this conversation in such a casual way, it was kind of nice, he was sure Stan and Bev would appreciate it too. 

“They/them, if that’s cool with you.” At Eddie’s nod Richie continued “So, where d’ya need to go?” Richie stood up then, a good few inches taller than Eddie, and picked their bag up. 

“If I could get back to town square that’d be great.” Eddie replies earnestly, Richie gestured for Eddie to follow them and began expertly weaving through the trees. “You out in the forest a lot?” Eddie asked, ducking under a thorny branch. 

“You could say that.” Richie answered mysteriously. “It’s pretty out here, isn’t it?” Richie said, carefully side-stepping over a rain stained log. Eddie followed with far less grace. 

“Not when you’re lost as fuck.” Eddie grumbled remorsefully, Richie’s laugh was bright and loud. 

“What led you to wandering around here, anyway?” Richie asked. Eddie mulled over his reply for a minute while he and Richie treaded through some soft grass. 

“Boredom, I guess. Had to get outta the house.” Eddie shrugged, he didn’t really feel like telling his life story to this stranger he met in the woods but something about Richie made him feel like he could if he wanted to. 

Richie hummed in understanding. “School starting soon for you guys?” They assumed. Eddie was hit with a jolt of realization that he’d never seen Richie at school before, odd considering that there was only really one school in the small town. 

“Yeah, you don’t go to Derry High, then?” Eddie shook his leg to remove some stray sticks from his shoes, he did not need his mom knowing he was woods. Fuck, if she found out he had gotten  lost  and asked a strange person for help, he would never see the light of day again. 

“Nah, homeschooled.” Richie answered, Eddie nodded and looked at Richie’s bag, straps digging into their shoulders. The pins were of a large variety, he recognized a Dead Kennedy’s logo, some for a band called My Chemical Romance (Eddie recalled that Stanley listened to them), and a few with weird symbols or animals. Eddie liked the one of an otter wearing a helmet that read ‘otter space’. 

“Can’t blame you there, Derry High isn’t exactly a treat.” Eddie huffed, Richie chuckled and shook their head, seemingly in agreement. “Especially not with Bowers.” Eddie added, nose scrunching up in disgust. 

“God, he’s a fucking prick.” Richie waved away a bug and began walking along a small creek with Eddie in tow. “Unsurprising that he’s  _still_ in high school.” Eddie laughed a little at that, the sound made Richie’s chest warm. 

“We almost there?” Eddie inquired after a few beats of silence, only filled with the sound of their own footsteps and leaves brushing against each other. 

“You mean you  _don’t_ wanna spend your whole day in the woods with the freak that you just met? Harsh, Eds.” Richie giggled at their own joke. 

“Don’t call me Eds.” Eddie shot back, his tone lacked bite. “You don’t seem like any more of a freak than me or my friends, ya know?” Eddie said sheepishly, Richie froze for a second before shooting Eddie a smile over their shoulder. A thin hand pushed their glasses back up on their nose and they hiked up the straps on their bag. 

“Who’re your friends? I might wanna meet ‘em if they’re anything like me.” Richie was walking slower now, scanning their surroundings before following a path they deemed acceptable. 

“Well there’s Bill Denbrough, people call him Big Bill sometimes, Mike Hanlon, Beverly Marsh, Stanley Uris, they go by Stan most of the time, and Ben Hanscom, he’s kinda new around here.” Eddie listed off his group of friends, who were all tragically busy today. Richie whipped around with wide, amused eyes. 

“Eddie, I dunno  _how_ we haven’t met before! Stan and I have known each other since we were like 3! Bevvy and I kick it together all the time! Mike, Ben, Bill, shit I know all of ‘em!” Richie shook Eddie’s shoulders gently but with enthusiasm unmatched by anybody else in Eddie’s life. 

“No fucking way, man!” Eddie was shocked. “I-is it okay for me to call you man?” He asked nervously, Richie just nodded and continued beaming at him. “Wait a minute....are  _you_ Stan’s cousin?” The only other person Stan really spent time with was their cousin, Eddie only just realized that he never asked for their cousin’s name. 

“We aren’t technically related.” Richie moved their hands in a so-so gesture. “But we’re basically family so we just call each other cousins.” Richie shrugged, the light behind their eyes was bright and made Eddie want to smile. 

“Your earrings too....you and Bev?” Richie nodded again and Eddie laughed. “How have I never met you?!” Eddie exclaimed disbelievingly, he had never even heard the name Richie Toizer before. “It’s such a small town! We’ve never run into each other?” Eddie gestured between the two of them wildly. 

“We might’ve uhh before I was..well, me.” Richie’s tone became slightly nervous and Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Before I was Richie.” They elaborated, watching it click in Eddie’s mind. Eddie nodded carefully. “I think Stanny didn’t introduce me cuz’ I didn’t wanna be introduced.” Richie raked a hand through their hair, it fell softly against their face. 

“Why not?” 

“Like you said, small town. We’re considered freaks by most, I got lucky with the friends I have but not everybody in good ol’ Derry is too keen on buddying up with a loudmouth, non-binary, bi kid that hangs in the woods.” Richie shrugged, fiddling with the pointed crystal against their chest. 

“I get it. Not everybody wanted an asthmatic, gay, bossy, germaphobe.” Eddie smiled at Richie, keeping his tone light. Richie laughed and shook their head in agreement. 

“Tell ya what, I like talking to you.” Richie began, starting to walk once more. “Next time I hang with those losers, we can tell ‘em we met and then we can all kick it together, yeah?” Richie offered. 

“Yeah, sure thing, Rich.” Eddie smiled up at Richie again. 

“Ah! Here we are!” Richie hurried up a small, grassy hill and gestured for Eddie to follow. Eddie complied and was soon being hauled up by Richie before they set him down. Richie moved a cluster of branches and, low and behold, there was Derry’s town square. 

“Holy shit, you really do know your way around.” Eddie laughed in disbelief, Richie grinned. Eddie ducked under Richie’s arm and sighed in relief. “Thanks, Richie, seriously. I would’ve been fucked without you.” Eddie said sincerely. Richie shrugged nonchalantly. 

“I’ll see ya soon, Eds?” Richie raised an eyebrow, shooting a finger gun that made Eddie chuckle and roll his eyes. 

“Sure thing, Rich.” Eddie said, starting to make his way to the sidewalk. He turned back to shout “Don’t call me Eds!” and was happy to hear the sound of Richie’s laugh as they turned back into the woods. 

Richie slid back down the hill with a practiced ease, grinning with a wild feeling in their chest.


End file.
